English Bay rezoning application goes before council

CBC

A proposal to create more rental housing overlooking English Bay will go before Vancouver city council tonight.

Beach Towers Investments wants to build four new buildings in the area of the 1600 block of Beach Avenue, which would fill the space between towers the company already owns there and provide 133 new units.

Christine Ackermann, president of the West End Residents Association, says any development plans should be designed to suit the people already living in the neighbourhood.

"We don't oppose more rentals, but what we want is affordable rentals for our community," she said.

"[In] our community, the median income is only $38,500 a year. That translates to roughly $950 a months for a one-bedroom apartment."

Ackermann says the new units would start a few hundred dollars above that and go up to more than $2,200 a month.